Poron Car Reversing Aid

<B>grathke</B>

You got it at a good price. Did you installed it yet? I checked Poron site, and they seem to have discontinued mini2S.

<B>TheWorm</B>

The volume on the speaker is adjustable in the main unit. I tried it out this afternoon, and it was very audible from the driver's seat, with the speaker on the cargo floor. It was in fact, too loud. However, I wouldn't put it in the cargo area, for it may be damaged accidentally, though the speaker is housed in a hard plastic case, and is pretty sturdy. I may place it on the tailgate pillar, near the ceiling. If it is loud enough, I may even put it under the 2nd row seat, completely out of sight. I'll also like to find a way to turn off the whole thing (the kit does not let you do that, other than unplugging the speaker) from the driver position, so running wires to the front may be necessary.

I fooled around with it this afternoon, and suceeded in connecting the main unit to the backup light wires. I also attached the sensors to the plastic clips, and tape the clips (with making tapes) underneath the rear bumper. The kit seems to work as advertized. I'll need to experiment with the placements for the two outter sensors, so that they won't give false alarm when I back out of my garage, and are yet sensitive enough to warn me of real dangers.

I'll report more later, and will post some pictures if I can find a cheap digital camera.

That'd be fantastic, or even a word descript of where/how. Here are my primary questions, which you probably pondered during your 8 hr inspection:

-Did you end up mounting with the hangers under the bumper?
-What color were the reverse-lamp and ground wires in the light housing?
-How did you get the wires from down there up to the backup lights?
-Did you have to drill, or did you remove trim pieces?
-Where did you mount the control unit? I'm thinking the rear cargo area where you store the 3rd row headrests?
-Where did you mount the speaker? I'm thinking leaving it IN the rear cargo if loud enough, or maybe on a rear pillar.
-Where'd you hide all the wires?

BTW, is the micro3LV the one with the square sensors, or with the rectangular one? Did you do all 3 sensors or just 2? (boy, their website is terrible -- it's tough to figure out what the different model #s represent).

Thanks and sorry for all the questions. Looking forward to the pics -- I'm going to order one next week when I get up the guts to do it!

Also, if you're in need of a digital camera, I think we're both in the SF Bay Area. I'd be willing to meet and take the pics for the gallery here, and would buy lunch in exchange for the free advice

Those really are great pics (yea, I know I said that already). I'm installing mine this wkend assuming it arrives direct from Poron by then (autotoys didn't have the micro3LV; they just add another sensor to the micro2s which are a different sensor size than in kinmanc's pics (and I was afraid they wouldn't have those critical hangers for the bumper install).

Remember, u have to ask for the $50 discount if ordering direct from Poron. Mention the site!

accmdx -- I bet the toughest part for you with the digital readout will be figuring out where to run the wires -- too bad they don't have a cordless version!

FWIW, I *think* I figured out Poron's naming scheme:

Micro = backup unit with VOICE, no LED display
Mini = backup unit with LED display

2x = 2 sensor unit
3LV = 3 sensor unit for Large Vehicle

Example:

Mini3LV = the LED display with 3 sensors
Micro2S = Voice unit with 2 sensors

Also, autotoys uses a different numbering scheme altogether.

Installing the Poron?

kinmanc:

I received mine the day after I ordered it. Great service!

I have a few questions on your install which I can't quite figure out from the pictures:

1) Exactly where and through what did you route the wires for the three sensors from the outside of the car to the inside of the car?

2) How far in from the outside edge of the bumper did you mount the two outside sensors?

3) How much in from the back edge of the bumper did you mount the three sensors?

4) Did you actually screw through the bumper (I assume that it is plastic in that area) or did you use the double face tape?

Thanks!

Tom

mogur

I don't think it matters too much where you put the sensors. If you look at the first and second picture, the right sensor almost "touches" the outer exhaust pipe. It is hard to say how far it is away from the bumper edge, since there is no sharply defined edge. It's round.

I'll say the sensors are a couple of inches from the back edge of the bumper, maybe less for the center one, because the plastic there under the bumper is much shorter. I put the ceneter sensor as far in as I could, and decided that it's OK.

I did drill 6 tiny holes (2 each) to screw in the hangers. It's very thin plastic there, so that's easy. I didn't use the tape provided because I think it's not secure enough, and I may need to adjust the sensor orientation (around the vertical axes) afterwards. I also didn't use their metal screws, but I used screws with washers and nuts. I placed the outsider sensors slightly tilted to the sides, so that I can detect objects that are closed to the side too. That seems to work out well.

As to the wire routings, you'll need to first find two holes. After you remove the plastic tailgate sill and look at the the back wall of the cargo compartment (where you put the head rest), you'll see 3 grommets (black plastic about 1.5 in in diameter) covering 3 holes. Remove (ply carefully with a screwdriver) the left one covering "the big hole". See picture 6.

Go under the SUV, you'll find more grommets on the underside of the SUV. There's a smaller one (about 1 in in diameter) near the bumper on the left (driver) side that you need to remove. I found it easier to do that by pushing it out with a stick from the big hole above. This is "the small hole". See picture 10.

The three sensor cables and the 2 backup light wires all go into the small hole and out of the big hole. I used a straighten coat hanger to help me get the cables through the holes.

You'll want to put back the grommets afterwards, to keep the wires in place, and to seal off dust and water.

BTW, I also hid most of the unused cable in the space between the small and big holes.

G'luck!